Navi Mumbai: High drama in Kharghar after bull falls into open ditch

Apr 16, 2016, 08:34 IST
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Faisal Tandel

A failed operation from the fire brigade and two more attempts by locals helped rescue a bull that had slipped into an open ditch near Kharghar's Metro station

As if the dug-up, abandoned pits dotting city roads weren't dangerous enough for humans, they have now claimed an animal as one of their victims. On Tuesday, a bull fell into a pit dug up near the Metro station at Kharghar. The fire brigade officials tried to rescue him, but failed as the bull kept attacking them. The bull was later rescued with the help of locals and hydraulic machines.

The bull fell back inside the first time it was lifted out of the ditch. Koli and his friend later sent it up a second time, after which it fled the scene

The bull had fallen inside a 20-ft deep ditch, dug next to the Metro station in Sector number 4 at Belpada in Kharghar. Bobby Koli (26), a local who owns a cowshed was passing by the area, when he saw a huge crowd gathered on the road. He said, “I went to service my car and while on my way back, I saw a huge crowd watching the funny rescue operation by fire brigade officials.”

The bull was hoisted up with the help of a hydraulic machine

"They were trying their best, but the bull was not letting them touch his body and kept moving around. Incidentally, around the same time, they received a call from the control room about a fire at Kalamboli petrol pump, and sensing the emergency, they left the place," he added.

After being rescued, the bull ran away

Rescue operation beginsKoli — who knows how to handle bovines — later made a fresh attempt at rescuing the bull with his friend Nilesh Koli. The duo went inside the ditch, which was half-full with water at around 10:30 am. Koli says, "We removed our shirts and started the rescue operation. Earlier, the bull was not allowing anyone to touch it, but later, moving hands on his neck and head we first calmed him down and later asked for the hydraulic machine."

Bobby Koli, who rescued the bull with his friend Nilesh

Koli added, "Then, I asked Nilesh to catch hold of the bull's horns and tied a belt on its back. We asked the person operating the machine to lift him up. We rescued him by 11.15 am. But, once it was hoisted up, seeing the crowd of the people, it jumped into the pit again. At around 12 pm, it was successfully rescued."

"It had suffered injuries on its body parts as it had fallen inside twice. As soon as it was rescued, it ran away from the scene," Koli said, adding that the bull had possibly fallen into the pit at night, but the locals noticed it in only in the morning and then informed the local police and fire officials.

Samir Salvi, a resident of Belapur who was passing by the place, said, "It is a single road and the authorities doing the metro work have put up just one barricade beside it. No precautionary measures have been taken and anyone can fall inside. The bull could have fallen inside late at night. The road is so quiet most of the time that had a man fallen into the pit at night, no one would have rescued it till the morning. Salvi said the pit is still lying open."